Shigematsu Sakaibara

Shigematsu Sakaibara (28 December 1898-18 June 1947) was a Rear Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy who was responsible for the Wake Island Massacre of 1943 during World War II.

Biography
Shigematsu Sakaibara was born on 28 December 1898 in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, and he graduated from the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1918. In 1940, he became a Captain, and on 23 December 1941 he was given command of the garrison on Wake Island during World War II following the bloody Battle of Wake Island. He enslaved US Army soldiers captured in the battle and had them build fortifications on the island to stop the US Navy from assaulting Wake Island, and in 1943 he had 98 Americans massacred when he feared that a United States assault on the island was imminent. On 15 October 1944 he was promoted to Vice-Admiral, and on 4 September 1945 he surrendered Wake Island to the USA. He was sentenced to death by hanging on 1947 for his role in the Wake Island Massacre.